People come to me as a Strength & Conditioning coach because they have goals but don’t know how to achieve them. It’s the exact same idea when someone sees a financial planner to see what he needs to do to save for retirement. Often times the goals I am consulted abuot, generally by my personal training clients and not so much from my athletes, is how to lose weight or gain muscle. First, lets be clear – you can’t do both!

You can improve your body composition (i.e. lower your percentage of fat and increase your muscle mass) but you cannot lose weight while putting on muscle. The way we lose fat and gain muscle by definition the exact opposite – don’t let someone tell you that you can do both!

You need to pick a goal, map it out and pursue it. If you want to lose weight then take the necessary steps to achieve this goal. The same goes if you want to bulk up. Once you have a goal all you have to do is implement the plan, and I’ll show you how!

Until recently there has been a lot guesswork in exercise and diet when it comes to gaining and losing weight. A lot of people either over exercise thinking that’s the best way to achieve bigger muscles and/or a leaner physique. But exercise is this part of the equation – roughly 30% of it actually! But, as a great strength coach once told me, YOU CAN’T OUT-TRAIN A BAD DIET! Whether you want to gain muscle or losing fat you need to know exactly how many calories your body needs.

Before you begin to decide how many calories you body needs. There is such a thing as Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). This is simply how many calories your body needs just to stay alive (i.e. brain and organ function). To figure this you simply multiple your body weight in pounds by 10. So if your 180lbs then you’re RMR is 1,8000 kcal (180×10).

Now that you know how many calories you need to live you now have to factor in your activity levels. This doesn’t take into account purposeful exercise, this is if you have a labor job or are constantly moving around – stuff like that. If you are sedentary add roughly 20-40% of your RMR too your RMR total. Should you be moderately active then add 50% to your RMR. And if you’re very active then add an addition 60-80% to your RMR. So if we use the previous example of an RMR 1,800 kcal, lets pretend that you are moderately active:

1,800 + 900 (1800 x 50%) = 2,700

Therefore without purposeful exercise you need 2,700 kcal just to maintain your weight.

Ok, now lets add in your purposeful exercise. Keep in mind purposeful exercise doesn’t just include gym sessions but also any practices and competitions as well. There is a great chart that in the NSCA’s Fundamentals Of Strength & Conditioning that tells you the calorie cost of many common activities. On average though a typical resistance-training workout costs about 300 kcal. To get an even better estimate of calories burned investing in a heart rate monitor. Heart monitors have come a long way as it pertains to calorimetry. They now give you a fairly decent estimate of calories burned during exercise. Lets add that to the equation we have already used:

1,800(RMR) + 900 (Moderately Active) + 300 (Exercise) = 3,000

As you can see you’d need 3,000 kcal just to maintain your weight! From here it is a simple game of burning more than you eat. There are a million other resources that can tell you what and when to eat. My goal today was to tell you HOW MUCH to eat. Hopefully now you’ll be take a more scientific view of your goals and reach them successfully!

Recognizing the signs of a genital herpes outbreak is one of the best ways to minimize the outbreaks

One of the best ways to minimize the outbreaks of a herpes infection is to be able to recognize the signs of the outbreak. This is the best way to understand why and when the outbreaks happen. This can help you use methods to minimize the severity, duration, and frequency of genital herpes outbreaks. You can use a reputable treatment plan at the beginning of an outbreak, and this will help decrease the severity as well as prevent future outbreaks from returning quickly. Let us look at some of the main indicators of the beginning of an outbreak so that you can understand when they happen and when to begin using a treatment.

There are two main signs you can notice to understand when a genital herpes outbreak is occurring. Keep in mind that in a herpes infection, the first outbreak is almost always the worst, most severe, and longest outbreak compared to the ones that come afterwards. In some cases, the outbreaks decrease in severity so much that they are just a small nuisance. Sometimes they get so small that they are not even noticed. This is one of the better facts about herpes. It is not always as bad as it is made out to be. Some people get one or two outbreaks and then never get another outbreak again. Minimizing outbreaks can sometimes be as close as you get to a cure for herpes.

The first sign of a genital herpes outbreak are things known as hot spots. They are a warm or tingly sensation that occurs on an area of skin where an outbreak will come in later. This is often the first sign that a person can feel. It feels different for everyone so it is difficult to explain. However, most people report it feeling like a bug bite, or a very mild irritation of the skin. No bruises, sores, or redness will be visible at this stage, but the warm sensation will begin to get slowly stronger.

The second sign of a genital herpes outbreak is minor itching. After the first outbreak that we have said is the most severe outbreak of them all, it is rare to have blistering and scabbing. Later outbreaks have very mild physical symptoms, and more itching. The itching will occur in and around the pubic region and the upper thigh area. This itching area is similar to a hot spot, but will generally feel slightly more irritating on the surface of the skin.

Summer is the time of year when outdoor activities become part of your every life. The weather is beautiful and it is the time to relax, soak up some sun and spend some quality time with your family. There are so many outdoor summer activities to choose from. Many of which are ideal for families. It is impossible to be bored when you have the great outdoors and an amazing family to spend time with. Here are five outdoor summer activities for families.

1. Plant a Garden

Planting a garden is a great outdoor activity for families. It gives you and your family the chance to create something beautiful while working together. Not only is planting a garden a great family activity but it is a great way to improve the look of your front or back yard. We always recommend applying an FGX power strip afterwards especially if you had been carrying a lot of soil.

2. Spend a Week at a National Forest

Whether you choose to camp in a tent or stay at a hotel, spending a week at a national forest offer endless possibilities. You and your family can explore all that nature has to offer in addition to taking part in amazing outdoor activities. At a national forest you have the opportunity to go rock climbing, hike or even go fishing.

3. Hike and Forage for Food

For families who like to hike together as well as cook together go foraging for food. Plan a fruit and/or vegetable hike and gather a harvest that can later be incorporated into a healthy and delicious meal. Once you are home come up with a few recipes that your family can make together.

4. Spend a Day at the Beach

If you live near the ocean plan a day at the beach with the family. You can enjoy the weather and splash around in the ocean.

5. Take a Hot Air Balloon Ride

Families who are a little more adventurous should consider taking a hot air balloon ride together. You can soar the skies while bonding with your loved ones. This family activity is truly unforgettable.

Overall, there are so many outdoor summer activities for families. Whether you are looking for a relaxing activity or something more adventurous the options are endless. Visits the FG express team for more ideas. Summer is all about relaxing and spending time with the people you love so take advantage of it!

Everyone knows that it is not healthy to eat at fast food restaurants. Even a single cheeseburger can increase your calorie intake. These foods are the main reason why increasingly more persons are faced with obesity problems today. If you are changing your daily eating habits to live a healthier lifestyle, this could become a problem if fast food is only option for lunch. This means that you might be wondering if it is possible to get healthy choices at these restaurants.

Fast food Restaurants: Are there any Healthy Choices?

Fast foods are not healthy choices for persons who are serious about losing weight or staying in good shape, but at times they might be the only other option besides starvation. Thankfully there are ways that you can reduce the unhealthy effects that many fast foods will have on your diet.

The first basic step to take towards healthy eating is to watch your food portions. Choose the smallest size meals instead of supersizing.

Another suggestion is to avoid high calorie drinks and foods. You could opt for diet sodas or ask for pure water, which is even better. If possible, you should get sandwiches with whole grain bread.

This other basic suggestion would require you to plan carefully before going to a fast food restaurant. Nearly all of these restaurants have website where you can view the nutrition information for various foods. This includes information on the fat, sodium and fiber content. With nutrition information provided for specific foods, you could know which sandwich to get as well as which toppings to avoid or choose.

Now, if you are not able to do this research before going to the fast food restaurants, you could examine the menu carefully while waiting in the line. If done correctly, this will be a good way to make better decisions about healthy choices. If not, you could make a guess and then discover later on that you actually had a meal with loads of cholesterol, calories and saturated fat. Fortunately, all will not be lost as you could make adjustments to the foods that you are eating for the rest of the day. This way, you will not consume more than your daily caloric requirement and you definitely won’t make that mistake again.
One more recommendation is to choose a couple of the healthy side orders, instead of a sandwich or burger.

As you can see, the fast foods might not be healthy choices but there are ways that you can avoid the saturated fats, calories and cholesterol. Keep these suggestions in mind for the next time when you have to eat at the fast food restaurants. Just ensure that you research the caloric and nutritional value carefully and avoid eating these foods on a regular basis.

When it comes to taking up one or other form of martial arts, learning a little about the origins of your chosen discipline can help you come to terms with the true psychology of the sport. For those who want to take on the study of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Fairfax in Virginia is an excellent place to get a well-rounded grounding in many of the disciplines, including the popular Jeet Kune Do.

The legend of Lee

The name Bruce Lee is synonymous with Jeet Kune Do, and while many non-professionals may not know it, the reason is because, in fact, he was the one who developed the discipline in the latter part of his career. While most people put his name together with Kung Fu, due to his highly successful Hollywood movie career, Lee’s dedication to Jeet Kune Do is certainly not as well known.

Cut down in his prime, the legend of Lee lives on, perhaps even larger in death than during the life of the great man himself. A testament to his appeal is that even those who have no interest or association with the sport or his movies are familiar with his name and he has become a part of urban lore – although this almost certainly would not have been his aim. He, along with his contemporaries Jean Claude Van Damm, Jet Li, Jackie Chan and of course Chuck Norris, have gone a long way to bringing a little-understood art form into the mainstream consciousness. For those new to the discipline, MMA Fairfax instructors will be more than happy to introduce you to the ethos of Bruce Lee.

The difference between Jeet Kune Do and Kung Fu

Before the 20th century many of the disciplines were known by their specific names and the term Kung Fu became used more as an umbrella term. As Bruce Lee’s became more and more skilled and his style refined, the rigid and regimented movements of the martial arts he practised caused him a great deal of frustration. He went on to develop his own, unique style that, although retaining many of the original movements and techniques, was regarded as ground-breaking and hugely innovative – Jeet Kune Do was born.

If you’re looking for an exact science of the similarities and differences between Kung Fu and Jeet Kune Do you may have to go back to the drawing board. Because, in fact, it is the principles of adaptability, flexibility and the willingness to expect and do the unexpected that forms the very ethos of Jeet Kune Do. Lee believed that one needed to “feel” the discipline and their opponents psyche rather than follow a regimented and robotic regime of movements. He took movements from many disciplines to form the basis of Jeet Kun Do, and his approach revolutionised MMA. Fairfax teachers will be more than happy to explain the principles further and invite you to see the discipline in action.

The modern styles of fighting

When it comes to MMA, Fairfax teachers have a wealth of experience at their fingertips. While Bruce Lee cannot be credited with developing the modern disciplines of MMA, it is his forward and radical thinking that helped shape many of the techniques used today. When learning MMA, Fairfax centers focus not only on the techniques required in order to participate, but they also pay great attention to the mental and spiritual growth that enables someone to become a true proponent of the disciplines.